Tiling



F eb. 15, '1944.

c. G. MUENCH TILING Filed May 16, 1940 Patented Feb. 15, 1944 TILINGCarl G. Muench, New Orleans, La., assigner to The Celotex Corporation,Chicago, Ill., a corporation oi' Delaware Application May 16, 1940,Serial No. 335,437

1 Claim.

This invention relates to tile, particularly to tiling for an ornamentalceiling or wall surface, and has for its principal object to provide atile vand structure made therewith which will be cheap to manufactureand more convenient in use than v those heretofore proposed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a and the front lip asupport for the complementally formed tongue which also provides aprotective edge for the member, and when contiguous members are erecteda concealed nailing or securing joint is formed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel tile having aninclined nailing surface and a horizontal supported surface at anopposite edge thereof, whereby a complementary tongue comprising thehorizontal supported surface which is formed is adapted to be readilyinserted into a V shaped groove of a contiguous tile provided by theinclined nailing plane and a horizontal supporting surface similarlyformed as the horizontal supported surface to support the contiguoustile in its erected position.

A further object'of the invention is to provide a novel tileconstruction'wherein the elongated lip providing the inclined nailingsurface as well as thetongue and itsv horizontal supporting planeprovides a protective edge about the ornamental face of the tile, aswell'as a concealed or blind nailing joint when erected in abuttingrelation- .l

ship with contiguous tile.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the noveldetails of construction and combination of parts as will be disclosedmore fully hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thespecification and in which like numerals designate like parts in all theviews:

Figure 1 is a'viewv in elevation illustrating tile applied by the use offurring strips to joists or to a plastered wall construction:

Figure 2 is a perspective view, partlyI in section, of the tile lookingat'the'tile as applied to a ceiling;v

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view along the line 3 3 of Figure 1 andlooking in the direction oi the arrows showing the details oi' the blindnailing joint construction; and,

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view illus- (Cl. 144-309) Y tratingthe blind nailing joint construction and the indurationat the joint.

This invention is directed to a tile so constructed that a plurality ofsimilar tile may be laid in edge abutting relation in the constructionof floors and walls, each tile having a blind nailing joint constructionwhereby each tile may be aillxed into the floor, wall, ceilingconstruction or the like without the securing-means showing at thesurface of the tile. It is preferred that each tile has an interlockingand/or wedging joint construction about the edges thereof so thatcontiguous tile-when in abutting relation, will form a concealed orblind nailing joint construction.

Another important feature of the invention is that in erecting the tiletheymay -be started either from the edge of the room or from the centerof the room, depending upon the pattern to be laid. Each tile may be vofany suitable material, either of one piece construction or made as alaminated structure, and may be of dimenf sions preferably multiples of12" or 16", whereby with the use of different sizes of tile, variegatedpatterns may be formed for an ornamental wall or ceiling.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, tile I0 are erected preferably, as bestillustrated in Figure 1, Aby rst erecting furring strips' H to jolsts I2in a new' ceiling or a wall construction or the tile may `be' directlyaffixed to furring stripsll which are directly affixed to plaster .I3 orthe like construction, the latter, particularly where thetile are usedfor renovating the surface of a room. Although this form of tile is usedparticularly for providing ornamental surfaces of the walls and ceilingof a room, obviously the same construction may be used equally aswellfor laying tile on a flioor construction. It is preferred that the tile0 shapes may be used or the tile may be in various multiples of a unitdimension such as 6' or 8" and suitably combined for forming variousgeometrical patterns. The upper or exposedv face of each tile may beplain or ornamented and either planar or embossed, and thetilefillustrated in Figure 1 are formed with a chamfered edge |4- to make amore pleasing appearance while reducing to a minimum the possibilityfofchipping of the edges or of presenting sharp edges in the finishedsurface of the tiling.

Referring to Figures 2 and 4, the preferred form of the tile I0 and itsjoint construction will be described in detail. The edges of the tileare preferably formed with a modiiied form of tongue shall be square inshape, though tile of other and groove. as best illustrated in Figure 4,so that a blind nailing joint construction is formed. It is preferredthat each tile shall have two adjacent edges with a modified tongueconstruction I while the other two adjacent and opposite edges areformed with a modified groove construction I6. In the preferred form ofthe tile construction, the thickness of the tile is substantiallyone-half of an inch. In describing the various layers making up themodified tongue and groove construction, for the purpose of description,each tile will be described as formed in three layers, and each layermay be considered as substantially onethird of the thickness of thetile. The tile is preferably bevelled along its face edges to a depth ofone-third the thickness of the tile, as illustrated at I4, Figures 1, 3and 4. The tongue construction and the groove construction I5 and I6respectively, each form another one-third of the thickness of the tiletogive rigidity to the tongue and groove construction. The tongueconstruction I5 has a tongue I1 having one face, that constructionserves as a support lfor contiguous tile when erected in this manner. Asthe contiguous tile are erected in-place, as illustrated in the enlargedview, Figure 4, the face I8 of the tongue I1 slides over the horizontalsurface 2l of the groove 23 so that the surface 2| of the groove 23serves to support the contiguous tile due. to surface I8 resting on thesurface 2| and is therefore supported by the groove construction of thetile which is alxed to the furring strip. The description which has beengiven obviously refers to a construction where the tile are applied to aceiling construction, and obviously when directed toward the exposedface of the tile formed to provide a horizontal supported surface I8,parallel to but rearwardly of the tile face. The opposite face or rearface of the tongue I1 has an inclined notch portion I9 rabbeted orrecessed inwardly from the rear face of the tile and complementallyformed with respect to the inclined nailing Vsurface 20 constituting thefront face of the rear lip defining the groove I6. The surface of thefront lip opposite to the rear lip providing the inclined nailingsurface of the groove construction I6 is horizontally formed as at 2| toprovide a horizontal supporting surface for the tongue I1 of thecontiguous tile and ls complementally formed with respect to thehorizontal surface I8 thereof. The increased thickness formed at theblind nailing joint, as at 20. allows for the necessary frictionalgripping of the material to the nails 22. When erected as illustrated inFigure 3 with the nails 22 driven through this portion of the increasedthickness, the nail 22 and the tile IIJ are aixed to a furring strip II.

On tile, the modified groove constructions I6 are formed so that theyare complemental with the tongue constructions I5 which are opposite toand adjacent to each other so that when contiguous tile are abuttedtogether form what is known as a blindnailing construction. The modifiedgroove construction I6 is chamfered as at I4 similar to the chamferformed at the tongue construction I5. The groove construction I6 has agroove 23 complementally formed with respect to the tongue I1, that is,there is the horizontal surface 2l corresponding to the similarly formedhorizontal surface I8 of the tongue construction I5. The inclined blindnailing surface 20 of the groove 23 is complementally formed withrespect to the notch or recess I9 of the tongue construction I5. Asillustrated in Figure 4, it is obvious that with the constructionillustrated, a neat as well as concealed joint is formed when contigu-4ous tile with complemental edges are abutted together.

With this novel form of joint construction, it

' is evident that, as the tile I0 is erected in place they are supportedin a floor construction, the inclined nailing surface 20 will supportthe complementing surface of a tongue of a contiguous tile while it isbeing nailed in position by means of the groove construction oppositethereto.

I'n connection with tile provided with the novel tongue and groovedescribed, it is evident that the tile may be rapidly applied and thatwhen erected, the securing means are concealed; and, at the same time,any expansion or contraction occurring in individual tile is free totake place due to the construction involving the unsecured edgesopposite to those which are secured. Also the novel tongue and grooveconstruction prevents breathing of the joints because of the interttingtongue and groove construction, and it also provides an ornamental jointin'that there are no open spaces where the tile are abutted together andshadows from the bevels tend to conceal the joints. A s illustrated inFigure 4, the tile have been shown as formed at the edges which aregrooved with the bevels I4 meeting the horizontal surface 2l of thegroove 23 in a sharp edge. When used` with materials such as feltedfibre board, this feather edge is somewhat objectionable and this may beovercome by having the chamfer stop before it meets the respectivehorizontal surfaces 2I and IB of the complementally formed tongue andgroove constructions I5 and I6 respectively. With certain forms ofmaterial, however, this feather edge is not objectionable.

The tile which has been described with reference to Figures 2 and 4 maybe applied using furring strips Il spaced on the same centers as thedimensions of the tile and these are preferably 12"l or 16", ormultiples thereof, depending upon the geometrical pattern desired. Inapplying the tile, the center lines of the wall or ceiling are firstfound and the odd dimensions from the edges are laid out so that thetile may -be laid beginning with the odd dimension size tile, that is,the tile are so laid that the tile are started from the edges of thewall or ceiling surface rather than started fromthe center of the room.In laying the tile in this manner, it would then be necessary to applythe tile as illustrated in Figure 3, beginning from the right hand sideof the room and working to the left across the entire surface to whichthe tile are being applied, ending up with the tile as illustrated inthe left hand side of Figure 3, if the dimensions of the room are suchthat the tile come out even. If thc width of the surface is not amultiple of the dir menslon of the tile, the outer or edge rows of thetile may be suitably cut to the proper width and provide a suitableborder along the edges of the installation.

The furring strips should be carefully laid out so that the Joints asthe tile are applied fall over furring strip. A disadvantage in applyinga ceiling or wall laid in this manner is that usually due to inaccuratemeasurements and because of dimculties inherent in application, thedimensions are not maintained and the pattern will be poorly appliedparticularly if an ornate geometrical pattern is being applied. Inapplying the tile,-the

or the edges of the tile may be individually dipped and indurated afterfabrication bythe usual tile is firmly nailed along the inclined nailingsurface 20 of the modied groove construction I6 as illustrated in Figure3. It is only necessary to nali along the groove construction of oneedge of the tile since the groove construction along the edge of thetile is sufficiently strong to support the tile because of the shortspan of 12" or 16 between the furrowing strips. If, however, tile ofmultiples of these 'dimensions are used for some of the tile, it wouldbe preferred to apply additional furring strips'between those extendingacross the room and ax the tile thereto, the remaining tile may then beerected in the same manner previously described. Although the erectionof -the tile has been described with reference to nailing it is apparentthat the tile may be equally as well applied by the use of a suitableadhesive by the methods well known in the art. It is obvious that theconstruction illustrated and described provides a novel tile which issimple and cheap to manufacture as well as to install.

The tile may also be formed into other patterns than that'illustrated inFigure 1,*particularly in what is known as a diamond pattern wherein thecenter lines of the room are struck, and the tile are applied in end toend relationship 'with the diagonal of the tile in alignment with thecenter line struck and in end to end relationship at the oppositecorners. The furring strips for this pattern are also laid on 12" and16" centers at an angle of 45 with respect to the center line struck'ifthe tile are square in shape, and the tile are nailed to the furringstrips in the double and tenoner or tile machine. VIn the usual process,individualsquares from which the tile are fabricated, are stackedia'nd'then automatically run through a double end tenoner or tilemachine to form the bevels and joints thereof in successive passesthrough the machine, or through successive machines. v

As illustrated in Figures 3 and-4, a hardening and toughening materialas this induration 24 may be with a glue size, shellac, or resin-and ispreferably such so that it extends a substantial distance from the edgeof the tile and vpreferably struction of the tile.

comprises the impregnation along the-edges of as illustrated in Figures3 and 4, so that it straightens the entire tongue and groove con- Thisinduration preferably dilute glue solution brought into the feltedfibrous same manner as previuosly described. It is ob-` vious that othermethods of applying the tile are equally applicable with this novelform' of blind nailing joint construction.

The novel blind nailing joint construction has preferably been generally`described without regard to the material used for ,the tile but whenthe tile are fabricated from felted fibrous ligno-.

cellulosematerial a `weakened joint is formed because of the nature ofthe material.' This par- I ticular form of joint, however, has beenprimarily developed for the use of tile or panels fabricated from feltedfibrous ligno-cellulose materiaLjpreferably bagasse, theligno-cellulo'sematerial .being sized and "treated against fungus and insects by any ofthe methods and'treatments Well known in the art and which vare .notnecessary to be described here'forthe understanding of this in'- lvention.` It has been;found, however, that the material whenmanufactured commercially, and particularly because ,of the character ofthe felted fibrous material after the tongues and grooves have been`formedL there is some'tendency for the material forming the tile bymeans of a suitable wetting agent.

The following solution has been found to give satisfactory hardness andstrength to the tongue and groove structure forming the edges of thetile, and it comprises the following ingredients and is compounded. asfollows. First, 1 part of Armour #3 grade ground bone pearl glue isdissolved in 5 parts ofwater. In order to bring the ground glue intosolution, it'is preferred to first soak the glue in 1 part of cold waterfor a few hours and then add-the remaining 4 parts of water. Thetemperature of the solution should be raised to about A165 F. and'should be maintained at this point. To the above solution is added awetting agent preferablya 2% Duponal W. A. which is a sodium laurylsulphate. This wetting agent has a active agent and the 2% which isadded is basedupon the water content of the glue.

The indurating solution as itis applied must be maintained at atemperature above 150 F. and

edges of the tongues and grooves to become upset and rough. and raggedbecause of the thinness of.` I

the material but morefso because of the charac'- ter of the materialfrom which it is formed.` -It has been found also that this structuraldifficulty in the joint construction due tothe nature of thematerialforming the tile may be readily overcome byy indurating theedges where the tongue and grooves are formed with shellac, glue size,or` resin. This-induration ofthe material may be done by impregnatingthe sheets from which the tile are fabricated, such impregnation beingin relatively narrow intersecting strips forming the squares where thetile are to be cut,

durated by applying the solution to the tongues and grooves of the tileby dipping the edges into the. indurating solution for from 5 to 10seconds or by spraying with a continuous stream for the same period oftime. lIn order to avoid a difference in texture at the joint betweenthe contiguous tiles, it is preferred to indurate onlythe tongueconstruction and the groove construction of 'the tile without induratingthe surface layer of the material forming the tile.. method ofinduration is preferred, it is not essential and the edge of thetile maybe indurated so that thechamfered edges are-indurated. Apreferredpractice'in order to avoid a tendency to reduce the widthV ofthe groove when the indurating solution shrinks on the inside faces isto indurate the lower lip ofthe groove completely while leav- 'Y ing theface which is-exposed at the tongue construction free from theindurating solution. The cross hatched area of- Figure 3 illustrates thepreferred depth of the induration 'on both the tongue and groove andthis .induration may extend c ompletely across the tongue and grooveconstruction from' one face of the tile to another or the face which isexposed may have the induration Although this extendito within a shortdistance from the face of the tile.

The apparatus for spraying the tile preferably comprises a pipe or othersimilar apparatus from which the solution is sprayed from a series of15- inch holes spaced 3A of an inch apart. The indurating solution maybe kept away from the exposed surface of the .tile or ornamented face ofthe tile by means of a suitable gasket which presses against the edge ofthe tile as they are being sprayed. It is important that the edges ofthe tile shall be kept in firm contact with the gasket during thespraying period of from 5 to 10 seconds. The indurating solution ispreferably maintained at the desired temperature of 160 F.

to 165 F. by means of a water bath, the excess solution draining offinto the reservoir of the pump which forms part of the apparatus forspraying the solution.

The opposite edges of the tile may be lsimultaneously and continuouslysprayed in a separate operation from that of coating the tongues andgrooves on the tile or it may form a part of the apparatus of the doubleend tenoner machine for forming the tongues and grooves. In this case,the cost of spraying is reduced as the indurating `may simultaneouslytake place as the modified tongues and grooves are formed. The edges ofthe board may also be suitably'protected by a. gasket in the same manneras that previously de scribed above only that the exposed edges of thetile are blocked on and the spray is kept away. Any excess solution inthis continuous method is carried off and may run into a suitable troughwhere it is carried into the reservoir of the pump which distributes thesolution.

After the indurating solution has b een applied, the tile may be stackedas the edges will not stick together. It is, however, preferred tostagger them to permit better access of the air for drying theindurating solution. To satisfactorily airdry the edges, it takessubstantially two days to thoroughly dry the indurated tongue and grooveedges of the tile. y v

It has been found that by so indurating the tongue and grooveconstruction of felted fibreboard, preferably of felted bagasse fibres,that there is obtained a tensile strength in the tongue equal tosubstantially three-quarters of the tensile strength of the fullthickness of the felted breboard. Without induration, the joints shearat a load that is. generally less than one-third of that required torupture the felted fibreboard. It is therefore obvious from the abovedisclosure with respect to the method and solution for intile using thisnovel construction.- it is obvious that a simple form of tile has beendisclosed which may be cheaply manufactured and easily installed`without the use of highly skilled labor. Furthermore, a novelfmethod hasbeen disclosed lfor impregnating or`indurating the edges of the tile sothat it will not be damaged in shipment or in erection, and particularlyto strengthen the tongue and groove construction of tiles formed fromfelted ligno-cellulose material, so that the edges will not be damagedin shipment or erection to detract from the appearance of the finishedtiling construction after erection. Tile manufactured in this manner areusually fabricated from large sheets of felted fibrous material andparticularly after the material has been painted, that is, the surfaceof the material is painted as the material is being fabricated incontinuous sheets, but before it has been conveyed through the drier fordrying in the preferred process of fabricating the material. In

durating the tongue and groove construction of the tile that adequateshear strength at the joints has been obtained to particularly resistthe shrinkage stresses of the tile, particularly if the edges of thetile-besides being blind nailed are adhesively secured together.

Having thus described the invention, particularly with respect to thenovel form of blind nailing joint construction and method of erectingthe this method of painting and fabrication, an ornamental prepaintedsurface is provided but the bevels I4 are in the natural color of thematerial although it is obvious that tile may be fabricated with thesurface in the natural color of the material. It is obvious, however,that the bevels may be painted after the tile are fabricated and alsothat additional coats of paint may be applied to the surface of the tileafter the fabrication of the edges which form the blind nailing joints.This is particularly necessary when the edges of the tile are indurated,although not essential.

It is also obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofthe construction and arrangement of the tile without departing from fcomprises: indurating in a predetermined intersecting geometricalpattern narrow linear sections of a width in excess of the overall widthof the complementally formed interfltting edges throughout the thicknessof the felted fibrous material forming indurated, intersecting sectionsin a predetermined geometrical pattern, severing the materialsubstantially medially of the width of the indurated narrow linear;sections and forming complementally formed interfltting edges along theedges of the indurated sections whereby the complementally formedinterfitting edges of the structural member are indurated, thestructural member having the aforesaid edges strengthened and rigidiiledby the indurationv thereof and adapted to be erected with its edgescomplementally engaged with complementally formed structural members,

naar.. G. Mumien.

